The art of brick making is thousands of years old and an integral part of the process is the firing. Since the Second World War many brick companies have used natural gas as a fuel for firing the brick. As is well known, there is now a shortage of natural gas and as a consequence, modified procedures are necessary.
Additionally, a need has arisen in modern construction for eliminating or minimizing the great expense of labor in brick laying. In response to the need, prefabricated panels of brick work have been provided and the panels are suitable for unit assembly to form interior and exterior walls of buildings. Unfortunately, the mass of the typical prefabricated brick panel is such that rather heavy machinery is required for moving the panels from one place to another.
It is an object of this invention to provide a prefabricated building panel and a specific process for making the panel such that the cost of the brick to make the panel and the panel itself are less expensive, the panel is of lighter weight and the resulting panel may be structurally more or less rigid than conventional brick and mortar walls, depending on whether the wall is to be load bearing or merely a curtain wall.